49erssports.com - After making an impressive appearance at Euro 2020, the Danish national team is ready to look stunning at the 2022 World Cup. Under the direction of Kasper Hjumand, Denmark is ready to explode in the event held in Qatar.
Denmark is in Group D with France, Australia and Tunisia after impressing in the qualifying round with a 100% win. On paper, Simon Kjaer and colleagues are predicted to be the ideal companions for the French national team to qualify for the next round.
Of course, the Danish fans and the public will expect a lot from Kasper Hjulmand to take his team further, just like the last Euro 2020. At that time, the 50-year-old coach successfully brought Team Dynamite to the semifinals before being stopped by England.
What Kasper Hjulmand displayed with his team last year is expected to be repeated at the 2022 World Cup. With the support of mainstay players who take part in Europe's top leagues, it seems that the burden placed on Hjulmand to qualify Denmark from the group stage is believed to be not too heavy. very heavy.
The following is the profile of Kasper Hjulmand who will lead Denmark in the 2022 World Cup.
Player Career
Kasper Hjulmand started his career as a professional footballer and played as both wing-back and centre-back. Even though he never played for a big club.
Hjulmand has been mostly involved with top Danish teams, starting with Vivild IF (1991) and there he only played for one season. Then, he moved to Herlev IF (1992-1994), had a short break for two seasons, then returned to playing with Boldklubben af 1893 (1996-1998) before deciding to hang up his boots at the club.
During his time as a footballer, Hjulmand never won a title either individually or with the team he played for.
Coach Career
After retiring as a player, Hjulmand had coached several local Danish clubs such as Lyngby and Nordsjaelland. After being deemed sufficient to gush a local club, Hjulmand crossed over to Germany.
It was Mainz the Bundesliga club he had coached. Unfortunately, Hjulmand had less than a season there and the results were unsatisfactory.
Career with the Danish National Team
Then after traveling to manage the club, on June 1 2019, he was appointed as coach of the Danish national team. At that time, Kasper Hjulmand replaced Age Hareide whose contract had expired.
And it didn't take long for Hjulmand to prove his capacity as a coach. He was able to bring his fleet to advance to the semifinals of Euro 2020. Interestingly. He has no experience dealing with big clubs or flashy national teams.
However, this lack is evidenced by extraordinary results in the 2022 World Cup qualifying round, Denmark was able to make nine wins and only one defeat.
Collection of 27 points brought Denmark out as group winners, the only defeat experienced by Denmark from Scotland with a score of 0-2.
Mainstay Formation
Kasper Hjulmand often uses the 3-4-3 standard in managing the Danish national team lately. Previously, he was identical with the 4-3-3 formation, but this formation was deemed not suitable to accommodate the talents of the players.
In the 3-4-3 formation, Hjulmand focuses more on his two wing backs who have the same defensive and attacking instincts. namely Rasmus Kristensen and Joakim Maehle are the duo players who occupy the post.
In addition to the strength of his scheme at two wing backs, Hjulmand also has a playing axis in his scheme which this time is managed by Christian Eriksen. With the Manchester United player, the game scheme that he stretches will work.
Accomplishments
There are no flashy achievements at the club level, including at the national team level, considering that his work has only just begun. Since his appointment, Hjulmand has played 33 matches in all competitions and lost just nine.
It could be said that Hjulmand's greatest achievement with Team Dynamite was reaching the semifinals of Euro 2020 and bringing qualification to the 2022 World Cup finals.